Election Special
by Mettespo
Summary: Does anybody really think Will McAvoy would keep quiet during the 2016 presidential election campaign?
1. Chapter 1

_This surely won't be one of my best stories and probably a little dry with all the political stuff, but I've been following the election race for a long time now and just had to do something. Just like I believe Will would weigh in heavily, supported by his wife and his team._

 _Naturally not all issues can be tackled within only a couple of chapters._  
 _Also I have set this story in the summer of 2016 - and believe me, I am only partly regretting that with everything that is going on in the race at the moment. If I'd tried to incorporate recent events as well, this story would truly never get finished..._  
 _I tried to be neutral in the depiction of the candidates, but probably didn't manage, so I herewith apologize to anybody offended._

 _Last but not least my profound gratitude to SueG, for input as well as constant support and encouragement whenever I was ready to throw this out!_

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

 **Election Special**

 **Friday, June 3, 2016**

„I've had it, Mac!" Without knocking Will strode into his wife's office where she was brooding over some agonizingly boring reports. Without taking her eyes from the paper in front of her she lifted her hand with her index finger pointing upwards, asking for his patience while she finished reading the page that currently required her attention.

Will impatiently paced from the door to the window front and back until she finally lifted her head after having scribbled some remarks on the paper.

„What's going on, Billy?" Taking off her glasses she rubbed the bridge of her nose and got up to walk over to where he had paused his steps.

„First Bush 43, then Palin, the Tea Party and now Trump? What the fuck are these guys thinking?!"

Mac sighed, she only knew too well how upset Will was about what was going on in the Republican party. „What's he done now...?"

„Last night Clinton said that Trump claims to have foreign policy experience because three years ago he held the Miss Universe pageant in Russia. That's only half true, he merely claimed from this experience he knows how to deal with Russia..." Glancing down at Mac he conceded „Okay okay, that's not _that_ much better... But you know what's gonna stick with the people... I mean, _really_? First Palin who can see Russia from her porch and now this?"

„I'm sorry, Honey." Mac really felt for him and gave his hand a comforting squeeze.

„No, you're not" Will replied grumpily. „It's not your party that is consistently making a fool of itself and riding itself into the ground!"

Mac did feel sorry for him, although she hadn't really figured out for herself if she should see Trump's words and behaviour rather positive or negative. On the one hand she thought that the more ridiculous things he said the better to make him unelectable to the people, but on the other hand so far nothing he had said had really harmed his campaign, and nobody knew what the electorate would do in November.

„I _am_ sorry that you are hurting, Honey, but thinking about a President Trump..." Mac shuddered.

Will sighed. „I know, that's what I'm saying. I don't know what happened to this party that a man like him is likely to end up the official nominee for the office of the President of the United States! It's madness!" He started pacing again. „I want to do something about it, Mac..."

„What are you thinking about? Do you want to run yourself?" Though she knew that wasn't what he was going for she didn't think it was too far-fetched. With his strong convictions, his morals, his charisma and his public standing she could easily see him holding a public office one day. _If_ there weren't things like being high during an immensely important broadcast in his past.

„Ha ha... funny! No, I really don't know yet... Maybe some kind of election special... What do you think?"

Mac squinnied. „That's a really good idea, Billy. We could raise awareness for the strengths and weaknesses of the candidates, all of them, also from the Greens, the Constitutionalists and the Libertarians. But obviously the main focus has to lie on Clinton and Trump. I will be able to sell that to Pruit and get some extra time for that – Trump means ratings, he would like that..."

Will nodded. „Okay, I will get the team together and we'll work on a concept. How much time do we have?"

His wife and boss thought about this question for a moment. „I would say shortly after the nominating conventions. We can't do it before they are officially named as nominees of their party. Then we cover Clinton and Trump and have a short segment on Stein, Castle and Johnson. We'll only have to spend a few minutes on them, it's not like they have a chance. Just the topics they are focusing on and their potential to take votes from the frontrunners. How about..." She took a step to her desk to check the calendar. „...July 31st? That's the Sunday after the democratic convention.

„Sounds good, we'll get started on the concept and contents. And we shouldn't completely neglect Sanders, he still has a chance to be the democratic nominee. Thank you, Hon." Will squeezed her hand and started to head for the door, but Mac quickly touched his arm.

„Billy?"

Turning back he saw her smile at him and questioningly raised his eyebrows.

„You do know that whatever happens on election night, it's still going to be a wonderful day?"

Now Will smiled back and let his arms slide around her waist. „How could I forget? It's gonna be the fourth anniversary of our engagement – well, day-wise, not date-wise..." Leaning down he placed a soft kiss on Mac's lips.

They normally tried to avoid public displays of affection in front of their staff during the day, but in the privacy of their offices they didn't see any harm in giving in to it once in a while, however not letting it get out of hand as long as other people were around.

Mac returned the kiss for a moment but then let her hands rest on his chest before pulling back. „That was a very clever choice you made that day, this way we get to celebrate twice." She winked at him, but then let out a regretful sigh. „I have to finish reading that report, I'll have a meeting in about ten minutes... You haven't forgotten that Sarah is dropping off Charlie at three to go to her dentist appointment?"

Will snorted. „How could I forget? Charlie hasn't been talking about anything else for the last couple of days."

„Oh, let her be... You know how she loves spending time with us at work. Ask her to draw me a picture for my office; I'll come down as soon as my meeting is over and take her up here, so you have some peace and quiet during the rundown meeting."

„Will do." With a last, quick kiss and a squeeze to her hand he let go of his wife and left the office.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

After the rundown meeting Will asked Jim to stay with him in the conference room and explained the plans he had made with Mac.

„...So you see, we have about 8 weeks and we have to start from scratch. I want us to start this with a clean slate, basically as if we have never heard from these candidates before, know nothing about any policy plans, rumours, scandals etc.. Can you organize that?"

Jim scratched the back of his head and thougth for a moment before he began to speak. „Sure, I'll assign several teams who start researching the different candidates, maybe two for the smaller parties' candidates and four each for Clinton and Trump. If that doesn't work out we can always change the numbers."

Will agreed „Okay, but I want you on the Trump team, I have a hunch that this will be the group that will have to do the most digging and seperating the important issues from the knucklehead stuff. Have Tess take the lead on Clinton."

„Fine. Martin and Jenna on the candidates who won't have a chance?"

„Yeah, and team them up with Jake, too. They should also do a little research on Sanders, let's not forget that he hasn't dropped out yet. Let's start with setting a minimum of two hours a day aside for this. Today's Friday, so the whole class should meet... Wednesday...?" He looked up and continued when he saw Jim nod is head. „...with the first results and ideas how to go about it."

„Alright, I'll get right down to it and inform the others." Jim got up and gathered his papers, but then he paused and grinned at Will. „Say, did you happen to watch 'The Waltons' on TV?"

Will frowned at him, confused by his question. „What makes you think that?"

His EP's grin grew wider. „When Charlie left with Mac earlier she said _'Good night, Jim Bob'_..., I was just wondering..."

Chuckling Will shook his head, but tried to remain stern. „I think I have to talk to Sarah about the shows they are watching during the day..."

Despite the grumbling tone of voice Jim could see that Will was trying to hide his absolute adoration for his little daughter. „She _is_ a cute little button, isn't she?"

„You're the one talking, she's wrapped you around her little finger like a white kitten with a pink ribbon around its neck."

Jim shrugged. „Shouldn't have made me her godfather, I'm there to spoil her rotten, especially as her grandparents aren't around. _You're_ responsible for enforcing discipline." Smirking and obviously not believing that Will was able to deny Charlie anything he finally headed towards the door „I'll keep you updated on the election special. You better get started on your copy for tonight."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

On Monday Jim followed Will after the pitch meeting and sat down in front of his desk. „So, I have the teams for the special worked out: Martin, Jake and Jenna will be working on Stein, Johnson and Castle plus – for now - some basics on Sanders. Tess, Gary, Leo and Sandra have Clinton and Kendra, Tamara, Raheem and I will do Trump. Neal is the liason between the teams and will double check sources, and Kendra will also supervise Brock when we start booking experts and interview guests... The guys from graphics are standing by and will start their work as soon as a segment is ready to go."

„Who's Brock?" Will had become pretty good with names, but with new staffers it still took him a while.

„The new booker. Come on, you've seen him in almost every meeting for a month!"

„Sorry." Will shrugged. „So far he's just not that memorable to me... _Jim Bob_..."

Jim sighed. „I'm stuck with that name now, aren't I?"

Smirking his boss looked at his notes again. Even though they had become friends, especially since Charlotte's birth, it always felt good to not let Jim get away with everything. „Okay, the teams sound fine. We'll meet with them on Wednesday then, after the pitch meeting. Let me just go and tell Mac about what you've worked out."

When he left his office Jim's eyes followed him, his face sporting a lenient smile. Mac was only a phone call away, but even after more than three years of marriage Will took every opportunity to visit her during the day. And although the working relationship between him and Will had evolved over time, he knew that his anchor was still missing Mac in his ear.  
Jim was dead sure that, given the chance, Will would trade him against her in a heartbeat.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

Over the next weeks all teams were working very diligently and avidly on their assignments whenever they had some spare time, often having vocal discussions about what was to go into the script and what was too unimportant, sketchy or simply wrong.

During the first meeting, when everybody was called in to lay down the ground rules and work on a draft for the shows, they had divided the research for each candidate in different subtopics: domestic issues, international issues, election program and plans for the first term as well as miscellaneous stuff, which included personal matters, obvious lies and everything else that didn't fit in the other categories.

After that there had only had individual meetings with Jim and Will to discuss the progress they had made. Three weeks later though, at about the end of June, there was another conference to bring everybody up to speed and have the teams discuss the topics both major candidates had spoken out on, so that their different standpoints could be compared.

The discussion was lively, though pretty soon Will had to remind some of the younger people that there would not indulge into gossip or absolutely private matters during the show, especially when it came to all things „miscellaneous".  
„Guys, what does Rule # 1 say?"

„Is this information we need in the voting booth?" With a sigh the whole group obedientely cited the first of the rules Mac had implemented during one of the first pitch meetings after her return, all of which belonged to the first things every new staffer had to learn.

„Right. So should we really go down this road?" Will didn't wait for an answer to his rethorical question. „There are many other things Trump said, appropriate and inappropriate, that we can use."

„Yeah!" Gary jumped in. „What about his argument with Megan Kelly instead?"

Now Kendra couldn't keep quiet. „Why is discussing the size of a penis any different than talking about a woman bleeding out of _'wherever'_? Both is of incredibly bad taste and we should raise the question whether someone engaging in discussions like that is morally fit to be President. I think that's important for the voters?"

„You've got a point," Will conceded. „but I'm sure we can find some less drastic examples for this?"

„What about him insulting whole groups of people?" Raheem jumped in. „Like that women are 'fat pigs' as well as 'dogs, slobs and disgusting animals'? Or that Mexicans are bringing drugs and crime into the US and are rapists?"

„We could use that, Will." Jim now butted in. „Also because whenever he was given the chance to explain or correct his statements, he only lashed out more, so now Mexicans are also 'killers'. He sometimes not only doesn't seem have a clue what he is talking about, but he also seems incapable of admitting that he might have been wrong or even just exaggerating, not to talk about apologizing to those he insulted. And when he _really_ is confronted with having said something proven to be wrong, he just claims he has never said it. Kendra is right: Is Trump morally fit to be the President and leader of the free world?"

„Examples?"

Jim checked his notes.  
„Well, on February 26 he disavowed former KKK leader Duke who told supporters to 'get active' for Trump, but two days later during a press conference he denies ever having heard of him. He also said Elizabeth Warren had lied in saying that he wants to abolish the Federal Minimum Wage, although he had clearly sad so on „Meet the Press. To the question, if the federal government should set a minimum wage he had answered 'No, the states should decide because they compete with each other'. He did also say in the same answer that he thought people should earn _more_ , but a few months earlier he had claimed in an interview with MSNBC that a low minimum wage is not a bad thing for our country. That's only two examples, there are lots more."

„Okay." Will nodded. „Let's keep that in for the moment, maybe find some more examples to choose from. Tess, on every point we're discussing here I want your team to look out for similar incidents with Clinton – Did she say or do someting wrong and how did she deal with it?"

Tess marked something down on the paper in front of her before looking up. „She did apologize for voting in favour of the Iraq War Resolution in 2002 and said that although it was a far more complex vote than her critics give her credit for, she simply did make a mistake back then. And then there's the 'email-gate'"

„Good, I'd much rather use stuff like that then these personal insults. Keep looking into it, especially Team Trump. Let's move to domestic issues. Gary?"

The addressee cleared his throat and sat up straight.

„Obviously Clinton has talked about many domestic issues over the years, as senator, during the first campaign in 2008 and then now, less when she was Secretary of State. We are still comparing current statements with the older ones, but one we can varify is that once public opinion changed on same sex marriage so did she in 2013 after having opposed it for years."

„Well, that's one topic where Trump's been fairly consistent.". Tamara consulted her notes. „He is against the Marriage Equality Act and has said that he would 'strongly consider' appointing judges that would overturn the Supreme Court's same-sex marriage decision."

Will made a note on the pad in front of him. „This contrast between the two candidates should be mentioned, yes. Also their different standpoints on guns and abortion should be covered."

„Eh, Will?" Jim interrupted. „Trump speaks out against abortion _now_ , but he flip-flopped on this several times. In 1989 he co-sponsored a dinner in the honour of Mr. Duke, former president of NARAL Pro-Choice America. During an interview with NBC ten years later he confirmed that he was „very pro-choice", though against the concept of abortion itself. Still when asked he said he would _not_ ban partial-birth abortion.  
In 2011 he then stated he was pro-life, explaining this change during the first debate in August 2015 with personal experiences. In June, about six weeks _before_ that, he said on CNN that he was _pro-choice_ , only to change that to _pro-life_ after the interviewer followed up on it. And now it gets interesting..."

„ _Now_ it gets interesting?" Neal shook his head and grinned, but Jim didn't let him interupt.

„On March 30th of this year the infamous interview with Matthews was taped in which Trump asserts that women – not any men involved - who receive abortions will face punishment once it is illegal. This however was retracted by his campaign before it was even aired, and now he said the person _performing_ the abortion would be held legally responsible, not the woman. And in May he then claimed to have meant that women punish themselves when they have an abortion, not that they should be punished with prison sentences. But that's not all..." Taking a deep breath he continued.

„Two days after the Matthews interview, on April 1st, he said on CBS that he believes abortion legislation should be a state matter, but the laws we have now exist and he believes 'we have to leave it that way'. Again before the interview was even broadcast his campaign amended his statement, saying he had meant to say that the laws must stay the way they are until he becomes president, then he would change it through judicial appointments and allowing the states to regulate abortion. He has even presented a list of eleven conservative judges he would consider for the Supreme Court, all of them are pro-life."

Jim looked up at Will. „Interesting note on the side: Despite opposing abortion in 2004 he called pregnant employees 'an inconvenience', so one could argue that in his opinion moral values are okay as long as they don't interfere with business. Also the child care programs he offers at his hotels and clubs are only for guests, not for employees although he claimed otherwise in November 2015, so he's apparently not really providing a friendly work environment for mothers with children." Jim sighed. „That's Trump on abortion for now, how about Hillary?"

„Very straightforward." Tess answered him. „She has always supported Roe vs. Wade and voted against the Partial-Birth Abortion Ban Act. She also pledged to only nominated judges who would uphold Roe vs. Wade. However she has also stated that she believes abortion to be 'morally wrong', which could bode well with some conservatives, but as senator she refused to sanction legislation that would place limits on access to contraceptives. She claimed that almost half of unwanted pregnancies would end in abortion, so no access to contraceptives would effectively turn abortion into a 'stand-by method of birth control.'"

„Nice contrast between the two, that will do good on air." The moment he said the words Will secretly cringed and for once he was glad that Mac wasn't in the room. He knew that every now and then he still tended to forgot for a second that it wasn't all about ratings anymore. Quickly recovering he pushed the next subject. „What about the economy?"

„Oh, I'll take that one... Trump on the economy"" Kendra volunteered with a grin. „There's lots to chose from actually; for being someone who claims to be such a terrific business man he sometimes really talks BS. Let me give you an example:  
A year ago, during his presidential announcement speech, he said that under Obama the gross domestic product was below zero in the first quarter of the year although it would never be below zero.  
This is wrong on several levels. First of all he meant _the growth_ of the GDP, the GDP itself was in the trillions and definitely not below zero. I really think he should know that difference... Secondly growth is estimated to have fallen by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2015, but that is not definite yet, it can still be corrected once all numbers are available. And his claim that it _never_ happens, meaning we never had negative growth? Since the millenium alone it has been the case about ten times, and he should really know that, because the tell-tail sign of a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth."

After taking a deep breath Kendra continued.  
„He also claims that the US is the most highly taxed nation in the world whereas a simple check on that reveals that we are in 27th place from 30 countries that had been vetted. On the top of that list are Denmark, Belgium, France, Sweden and Finland with taxes accounting for more then 42% of the GDP, here it is about 25%. And the World Bank ranks the US 12th from the bottom of 115 countries in regard of taxation as a percentage of the GDP. Tamara?"

Her young colleague nodded and addressed the others at the table, looking from left to right with her first words.

„We have several other statements from Trump that are simply wrong or misleading, not only on the economy but also on domestic issues. Like just a few days ago he claimed that crime is rising, whereas violent crime as well as property crime has been steadily declining for decades now. For 2015 a rise in crime is possible, but those are still preliminary numbers and the way and the context Trump said it in doesn't even hint in the direction that he maybe only talking about last year.  
Another subject on which he repeatedly made false assertions is immigration. We've heard about his allegations against Mexicans, but he's also claimed several times that there is no vetting system for refugees from the Middle East, which his definitely wrong. The 'Refugee Act of 1980' calls for intensive screening, including scrutiny from federal intelligence and security agencies. It has been retooled after 9/11 and refugees from Syria, who Trump especially likes to mention, even have to clear an additional hurdle. He also claims that Clinton wants..." Tamara air-bracketed „to 'essentially abolish the Second Amendment', which she definitely doesn't."

Will thanked her and then looked at Gary. „Can you give me in a nutshell what else you have on Trump on Domestic issues?"

„Oh, there's also lots. Too much to cover it all in the show actually. He repeatedly made up unemployment numbers that are much too high, he used a fake internet graphic to claim that 81% of white homicide victims are killed by blacks and 16% by whites, while the latest FBI numbers clearly state it is about the other way around – 15% and 81%. He promotes that the 2016 Federal Omnibus Spending Bill funds illegal immigrants coming into the country whereas it funds the U.S. Customs and Border Protection who tries to prevent just that. I could go on an on..."

„I think that's enough for now." Jim nodded towards Gary and then looked at Will.

„Okay, great. Well, time's up, but that was a pretty good start. Jim's right, we don't have to go through everything in one go. But I do want you to look into other domestic issues we didn't talk about today, like health care, social security, more details on their positions on guns. The teams have to co-ordinate so that we possibly have input on both sides for each subject. We want to give the viewer's a fair and impartial overview so that they can make an informed decision." Will noticed that Leo, who had only been with the team for about half a year now, shook his head. „You don't agree, Leo?"

The young man blushed lightly. „Eh... No, no, it's fine..."

Not believing him for a minute Will just kept his eyes on him and finally Leo went on. „I just feel... that... it's a little like Trump bashing to me, not really impartial..."

„Why do you think that? Was anything we said untrue?"

„No, of course not. But it's not only Trump who has talked nonsense or made mistakes. What about Benghazi? Travelgate? The alleged sniper fire in Bosnia?"

„We are not trying to sweep anything under the rug, Leo." Will assured him. "Bhengazi will definitely be a part of the segment on foreign politics, about Bosnia we'll have to see; if it makes it in then under miscellaneous. But I'm not sure we should include things that are so long in the past, like Travelgate, because then the show would probably have to be three hours long. What do you think?" He let his gaze roam over the others before turning back to Leo.

The others mumbled their agreement and after a moment the young associate producer nodded. „Okay... I just didn't want to give her a free pass, that wouldn't seem fair."

„Alright then, how about next Wednesday we meet on foreign policy and the rest?"

The group murmered their consent and started to gather their papers. While they were leaving the room though Will heard some whisperings among the staff about Leo's remarks and immediately knew he couldn't let that go.

„Hey, listen up everybody." He waited for the staff to stop and turn towards him and then went on. „Let me just make it completely clear: We are _not_ pushing agendas here. This is supposed to be a neutral coverage of the two candidates and their programs, and if somebody feels we are losing the balance I'm glad if they say so. If it does end up that we'll have more on one party then that will be because they gave us more to work with, and not because we intend to portray somebody in a worse light than the other. Understood?"

Some had the decency to blush a little at this and cast a side glance to Leo, but they all nodded and uttered their consent, before leaving the room, while Will turned to Jim.

„Keep an eye on them, okay?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

„So, how is it going with the special?" It was Friday night and as every week Charlie had been allowed to stay up late for a little snack while her parents had their dinner, if she managed to stay up that long, that was. Sometimes she was so tired that she went to bed early voluntarily, but nine times out of ten she was too excited to go to sleep before her parents came home from work. Mac and Will cherished this time they had with her as on normal workdays she was already asleep when they got home, brought to bed by her nanny.

Mac and Will were very grateful to Nancy for having recommended Sarah to them, who had already taken care of her grandsons Beau and later Ned. It had been such a relief to have found somebody they could trust implicitly with their precious daughter, and any initial concerns about leaving Charlie with a stranger and admittedly also jealousy of the time the two got to spend together had soon worn off.

Charlotte loved Sarah dearly, but spending time with her parents was the absolute highlight of the her day, just as it was for them.

Tonight Will had prepared Pasta with chicken and vegetables for Mac and himself while Charlie had enjoyed a fruit salad which she ate while chattering nonstop about everything that had happened during her day. Afterwards Mac had gotten her ready for bed and read her a short story before Will joined them to sing a lullaby to her, like he had since the day she was born. He knew that soon enough she would grow out of it, so he treasured any chance he got these days.

Mac's question had come after they had gone back to the kitchen where she put the dishes away and Will poured some wine for them. Taking the glasses over to the couch he sat down and waited for her to join him before he answered.

„We're getting there. It's lots of stuff we have to vet, but the teams are doing a great job, though Jim, Kendra and I sometimes have to keep them on track a little when it's getting too gossipy..."

„Hard not to when you look at the GOP candidate." Mac mumbled these words into her glass so that Will couldn't understand her.

„What did you say?"

„Nothing, go on."

This earned her a doubtful look, but Will let it go and after a sip of wine he continued. „We did good progress on their stands on the economy and domestic issues today, and next week we'll continue with foreign policy, their election programs and plans for their time in office. All those other things, like their outright lies, will probably keep us busy sorting and verifying right until the broadcast, there's something new almost every day..." Will sighed and rubbed his eyes.

In the meantime Mac had emptied her glass and put it on the table to make herself comfortable on the couch, pulling her feet up and leaning into Will, who immediately let his arm fall around her shoulder. „By the way, I have to admit you made the right executive decision by hiring Leo, Hon."

"My decisions are always correct, I thought you knew that by now." Mac tilted her head and smirked at him. „But enlighten me, why exactly was this one a good move?"

„Well, it's obvious that the editorial staff is mostly leaning towards the Democrats and during the meeting the other day he pointed out that we might tend to focus a little too much on Trump. Admittedly, I had to dig a little, but in the end he said it."

„Good, when he's not afraid to stand up for his believes and speak truth to power that bodes well for his future." Mac snuggled deeper into his side and let her hand rest on his thigh, her thumb gently stroking it „Mmmh... This is nice. We really have to try to get some more alone-time, you know? I've missed you these last weeks. I know you and Jim have a lot to do right now, but still..."

„Yeah, me too..." Will agreed with a sigh. „But it's gonna get better once the special is over, I promise."

Mac laughed. „Don't make promises you won't be able to keep; preparations for the election coverage will have to start soon after..."

„Mmmhh... What would you say if I suggested a vacation mid- or end of November? Just the three of us for at least a week?"

„I'd start packing right now!" She grinned, but then sighed. „No, of course not, but I would really love that. I can't even remember the last time we went away for a week and didn't talk about work once..."

„Then it's set, start thinking about were you'd like to go. _If_ my boss gives me time off, that is..." Will winked. „But for now: Tomorrow Jim and I have only planned a two hour meeting, why don't we take Charlie to the zoo after that to ring in the long weekend?"

„She'd love that." Mac smiled and scooted up a little to press a kiss to Will's chin, who reacted immediately and bowed his head to capture her lips with his. They simply kissed for a while, too tired to let it lead to anything more but enjoying the closeness between them, before Will regretfully pulled back and stroked her hair. „Bed?"

„I guess..." Mac frowned slightly. „Maybe the little williwaw will sleep in tomorrow and we can wake up like in the old days..."

Will chuckled. „Wishful thinking... But hell, she was tired tonight, so there's a good chance. And if not then I'll make sure she'll stay up til midnight tomorrow and we can have a lazy Sunday morning."

„Ha, what makes you think that _I'll_ last that long?" With a last, long kiss Mac moved from Will's chest and stood up, reaching out for his hand. „I'll clean up the glasses tomorrow, come on, husband, I need my pillow."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

 _All political points/candidate opinions & statements mentioned have been fact-checked._  
 _My main source was the website politifact DOT com, also a few other newspaper articles and blogs, mostly for more/deeper information on specific points and to double-check._  
 _If I should have made a mistake/used wrong information it was completely unintended and please let me know._


	2. Chapter 2

_More politics, more facts and a little family..._

 _:::::::::::::::::::::_

 **Tuesday, July 05, 2016**

After a mostly leisurely weekend, including the promised trip to the zoo and a visit at Leona's for the 4th of July fireworks, the new workweek started off with Clinton being questioned about her email use by the FBI, Trump criticism over an allegedly antisemitic tweet about Clinton, several deathly attacks across Saudi Arabia and the death of Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel.

On Wednesday however they all got together again for the second combined meeting of the teams as planned. When everybody was seated Will cleared his throat.

„First of all, we managed to get both campaign managers on board for a live satellite interview during the special, so we have to set aside time for that. Also Jim and I were talking over the weekend. He suggested that we broaden the scope of the special a little and I agree.  
We think we should look into Dorothy Cooper again; remember her? How did voter registration laws develop over the last four years since the 2012 election? That's an important point, so Jenna, seeing that Sanders has said all but the actual words in the MSNBC interview that he will be dropping out, your team has some vacancies. Could you do some digging into voter registration and also if there has been any significant tailoring of electoral districts during the last years by any states? Just a short segment?"

„Sure, no problem." The young associate producer agreed.

„Thank you. And Neal, could you please look into the technical side of the election? Especially the risk of election tempering and maybe even hacking?"

Neal nodded excitedly. „I actually have lots of stuff on that already, it's fascinating! There are so many technical possibilities , but the risks are also immense. Many states are using absolutely outdated voting machines, risking malfunctions like vote flipping or even complete breakdowns and..."

„What's vote flipping?" Raheem enquired.

„That when you vote for candidate A, but a malfunctioning machine registers your vote for the other candidate."

„Seriously? That can happen?"

Neal snorted. „Easily, for example when the machine's software is no longer supported due to age or when a machine has been hacked. Estimates say that in this election 43 states will be using equipment that is 10 years and older, in 14 states even closer to 15 years. While the lifespan of key components is expected to be 10 to 20 years, it is most probably more closely to 10 years, so there is a huge risk that they won't function as they are supposed . in some places in Virginia machines were used during the last election that weren't even certified by the U.S. Election Assistance Commission and had serious security vulnerabilities like..."

„How the heck do you know all that off-hand?" Tamara interruptd him.

„I _read_... It's interesting, you should try it some day..." Neal shrugged.

„Freakboy..." Tamara mumbled with a grin which Neal returned with the self-confidence of somebody being used to be the tech nerd of the team and not minding it at all.

„Well, interesting or not, it's important to know. Can you make a 3 minute report out of it, Neal?" When the young men nodded Will went on. „Great, then let's start with the next segment..."

„Will?" Neal interrupted him. „Sorry, but there might be another point to this. As, I think, Jim said during the last meeting, Trump can't admit mistakes, but always piles on. It also appears that he isn't capable of losing.  
Already after the Iowa caucus, which he lost, he made allegations that it had been rigged. I think there is a big chance that he will also talk about election fraud in case he loses in November... And I am actually not sure what could happen, seeing the... well, passion of his supporters..." Neal checked the paper in front of him and raised his index finger when he had found what he was looking for.

„After Obama was elected in 2012 Trump wrote on Twitter: _'We can't let this happen. We should march on Washington and stop this travesty. Our nation is totally divided.'_ and the following day he topped that with _'We should have a revolution in this country!'_ as well as _'This election is a total sham and a travesty. We are not a democracy!'_ " Here Neal made a short pause to let the quotes sink in before he continued.  
„When he got negative responses to that he deleted some of the tweets later, but he had clearly been laying the groundwork for a possible reaction to this year's election results in case they don't suit him. He was even whining around when his show „The Apprentice" wasn't awarded an Emmy and blamed it all on politics."  
Neal was clearly huffed with what he had found. „That guy is dangerous! Imagine what could happen if he says things like this in case he loses this election!"

Neal's colleagues looked impressed and also a little shocked, and after a moment of silence Will took the lead again.

„That's a good and important point, I actually hadn't remembered those words from four years ago... Jim, can you try to get an official statement from both campaigns if they are going to officially honour the election results, whatever they are?"

When Jim nodded and scribbled something on his pad Will went on. „We should link the campaign's statements to the things Neal just quoted. Neal, will you work on that with Jake? Great, thanks. What about the allegation of fraud itself, can we counter or support that?" He looked around at the people at the table.

Kendra cleared her throat and everybody turned their attention to her. „There was a study from a Los Angeles law professor in 2014, who had looked at all credible allegations of election fraud from the 14 previous years: From more than 1 billion votes cast only 31 incidents could be classified as termpering. He also emphasized that not all of these cases had been thorougly investigated and could well include incidents like two people having the same name or someone signing in the wrong place of a pollbook."

„Very good, give that source to Neal, please? But now let's move on to foreign policy. I would assume here we'll have probably more from Clinton, seeing she was Secretary of State for four years? Tess?"

The blonde looked at her notes and agreed with Will.  
„Yeah, there really is a lot, we'll have to decide on the most important points. Obviously these include her actions during the civil war in Libya as well as the attacks on the US embassy in Benghazi. Here she has admitted mistakes and taken responsibilty. Then there is the email affair, but I don't think I'll have to elaborate on that for now, seeing that we have just covered it again yesterday.  
Also we have already talked about her support of the Iraqi War, although later she has admitted it was a mistake and apologized for it. And she has completely turned her opinion on the embargo against Cuba, from supporting it wholeheartedly to recommending to Obama to drop it before she left the State Department, because it was a _'failed policy'_. That's it from me, you'll get more details on these points in a memo. Gary has some more."

Her colleague nodded. „Tess has mentioned Bhengazi already, and I think it shouldn't be forgotten that including the Benghazi committee so far there have been 8 investigations of what happened, mostly led by congressional Republicans, and all concluded that although some changes might be in order no one did anything wrong.

All of them have emphasized that not one American death in Benghazi could have been prevented because it would have been impossible to move additional forces there in time. Not to speak of the fact that it wasn't Clinton's responsibility to move them but the military official's, especially as they had already been advised by President Obama to do everything possible to save lives a little more than one hours after the intial attack, so most of the investigator's criticism was directed at the Department of Defense.  
During her time as Secretary of State Clinton was part of the effort to put together the sanctions against Iran to finally force them to the negotiating table, and naturally she has many contacts within the political circles worldwide." Gary cleared his throat and took a sip of water.  
„You have probably heard that just a few days ago Trump has said that he _'likes'_ waterboarding, which was banned by the Bush administration as _'potentially illegal and ineffective'_ in 2006, and that it wasn't _'tough enough'_. In contrast to that Clinton has correctly stated in March of this year that when it comes to fighting terrorism there is lots of empirical evidence, gathered by several experts, that torture, as which waterboarding has been classified, is not working and any information gathered is likely to be fiction. That's what I have for now."

Before Will could say anything Sandra quickly added „An interesting aside: Towards the end of her term as Secretary of State Clinton was the most popular politician in the country, whereas today she there is an immense dislike and lack of trust of her in many constituencies."

„Thank you, good work you guys. What about Trump on foreign policy issues? Tamara?"

„Well, obviously he has never been involved in foreign policy decisions. He has several business interests abroad, but honestly? I think almost every time he is talking about foreign policy he hardly has any clue.  
For example he congratulated Scotland on the Brexit saying _'they took their country back'_ , although the majority of Scots had voted against it, and he called the country of Belgium _„a nice town."_ He has experience in how to deal with Russia because he held a beauty pageant there..." Tamara rolled her eyes but went on.

„He claims that with the influx of refugees to German last year the country is 'crime-riddled right now', which sounds correct if you only look at the number saying that crimes committed by immigrants are up 79%. However the number of immigrants itself rose by 440%, most of them coming in the second half of 2015, while the larger part of rise in crime happened at the beginning of the year.  
Three points should be mentioned here: Firstly, crime isn't distributed evenly among the refugees but a study in 2014 showed that from refugees from North Africa 40% have gotten into legal trouble within 12 months after their arrival versus 0.5% of Syrians.  
Secondly, fewer then 1%, or less than 1.000, of the incidents were sexual charges whereas most of the crimes committed by refugees include infractions like shoplifiting or riding on public transportation without a ticket. And last but not least, some of the additional crime consists of attacks on migrants themselves as well as on their shelters, the number having tripled in the first 10 months of 2015 compared to the whole year of 2014.  
Another area Trump is speaking out on is global warming, which was repeatedly called a hoax by him or as made up by the Chinese in order to make US manufacturing non-competitive _._ Funnily enough despite denying climate change he explicitly mentions it as a reason for an application to build a sea wall to protect one of his golf courses in Ireland from erosion.

„That's all pretty telling, but do we have anything of more substance?"

„May I?" Jim looked at Tamara who waved her hand at him in consent.

„Okay... Trump has repeatedly stated that the US is not adequately, or better, not at all paid for all its international involvements and activities by other countries. In 2011 and again this year he claimed that South Korea doesn't pay us anything for the about 28.000 soldiers stationed in the country to protect them from North Korea. In reality South Korea regularly signs agreements and reimburses us with large amounts for example from 2007 to 2013 it was almost $ 700 million per year. In 2014 it was even higher with $ 866,6 million and that will rise up until 2018 when the next agreement is coming into effect.  
Same with Kuwait. In 2011 he said they never paid us back for our involvement in the Persian Gulf War in 1991. Truth is that their was an international coalition of several countries who paid us. The incremental costs of the war, that is all expenses minus the costs that would have arisen for the military anyway while not being in a state of war, were estimated at $ 61 billion. Of this the US got back about $ 54 billion, about $ 32 billion from Saudi Arabia and Kuwait alone and the rest from Japan, Germany, the UAE and South Korea."

„Oh, that's interesting, I also thought that we bore the brunt of it." It was Jake who made that comment and shrugged when the others turned to him. „Can't know everything, can ya?"

„Right." Will confirmed. „That's the reason for the special. I'm sure there is a lot the people know about the candidates, but surely not all aspects and especially if everything they say is true. Look at the internet and social media, as helpful tools as they are, it's much too easy to get untruths out into the world, which are hard to verify for Joe and Jane Lunchbucket. Just think back to the Boston Marathon bombing... Okay, what else have you got?"

Now Kendra took over.  
„Lots of other stuff. According to him unter the Iran deal the US would be obligated to defend Iran in case it is being attacked by Israel, which is wrong. He claims he has put illegal immigration onto the table – wrong, it's been a hot topic for a long time. Five Guantanamo detainees swapped for Bowe Bergdahl are back on the battlefield? Wrong, they now live in Qatar.  
And always popular with him: The Obama administration having actively supported Al Qaeda in Iraq and both Obama and Clinton created ISIS, which is...? „She looked up. „Wrooong, you are correct.  
ISIS already existed before Clinton became Secretary of State and both have always fought them, whereas Trump insists he has never supported the Iraq War but is on record with the opposite.  
He denied Mexico the birthright citizenship, claiming the US is the only country who has it. In reality more it's more than 30 countries worldwide. And that's actually by far not all the nonsense Trump has said out loud; I will put the rest into a memo."

„Okay, thanks Kendra." Will checked his watch. „We still have a little time, what can you tell me about the plans for after the election the candidates have presented so far?"

Jim shrugged. „We have Trumps suggestions like repealing Obamacare, deporting illegal immigrants, pulling out of NATO if no changes are made, etc., but so far he has actually not brought real plans forward on how exactly he wants to do any of it, or in case of Obamacare, with what he wants to replace it.  
Last year he did propose a tax plan though. Among others he wants a pass-through business income tax rate of 15%, lower the corporate tax rate to 15%, create 4 income tax brackets at 0, 10, 20 and 25 % with no deductions except for charitable and mortgage interest deductions, eliminate taxes like the estate tax and the Affordable Care Act tax. He claims his plan is revenue neutral and wouldn't add to our debt and deficit, but several experts and organizations have debunked that. Sandra has got the info on that."

His team-mate took the cue and continued. „According to the Citizens for Tax Justice his plan will cost over $12 trillion over 10 years and 37 percent of the tax cuts would benefit the top 1 percent. The Tax Foundation gives 67% of individual tax cuts to the top 20 % of earners and predicts an increase of the deficit, reducing the revenues by $ 10,14 trillion despite an higher GDP. Some independent analysts even predict a US$ 30 trillion raise of the deficit. But it should also be mentioned that they also added that growth, investment, higher wages and more jobs are more important then the height of the deficit.  
According to experts cuts suggested by Trump are not realistic, escpecially as he has said that he intends to protect programs like Medicare and Scoial Security. The nonpartisan Tax Policy Center is sure there is no chance of his plans to be revenue neutral unless Trump goes after entitlements – I quote - _'in a big way'_ ".

Now Jim took over again. „When asked by CNBC at the beginning of May 2016 though, how he could promise to take on the wealthy elites while proposing sweeping tax cuts for billionaires at the same time, he kind of rowed back, calling his plan just 'a proposal for further negotiations'."

„Okay, thanks." Will voiced his appreciation. „I know that Clinton has also released a tax plan. Gary?"

„Yes, she did. Contrasting Trump she plans to increase taxes on the top 1% of earners, while the bottom 95% of taxpayers would see little or no change in their taxes. The so-called 'Buffet Rule" shall be put into effect which would establish a 30% minimum tax on adjusted gross incomes over $ 1 million. She also announced to repeal fossil fuel tax incentives, increase gift taxes and the estate tax, the latter to its 2009 parameters, as well as and limit or eliminate some deductions for individuals and corporations. According to different experts her tax plan would increase revenue between 500 billion to more than 1 trillion over 10 years, but the tax code would become more complex. Naturally there's more to it, but that's the most important parts in a nutshell, you'll get more on this in the memo. Tess?"

„Yes, thanks. Another one of her big plans is her proposed immigration..."  
Suddenly there was a clatter outside and then the door to the conference room swung open.

„Daddy!" A little brown-haired girl ran through the door and ran towards Will without hesitating for a moment. „Daddy! Mommy say I can have ice-cream, _twoooo_ scoops, and I'm an elf and we sing and you come and watch and I..."

'

„Hey, hey, slow down, little Pumpkin, come here." Will laughed and pulled Charlie into his lap and pressed a kiss to her cheek. „Now, first of all say 'hello' to everybody and then start at the beginning, okay?"

Charlie tilted her head and looked along the table, meeting the eyes of Will's staff looking at her with amusement. They had gotten used to her occasionally bursting into the newsroom and were always happy to see their little mascot, as they had started to call her a while ago. With a wide grin she shouted „Hi!", only to get the expected „Hello, Charlie" in return.

Still grinning the little girl turned back to her father, putting her hand to his cheek to force his attention onto her, which was completely unnecessary, because as always she owned the room. „I'm wearing a green shirt and pants and have huuuuge ears and my shoes has bells and we sing 'Merry Christmas' and Santa comes and brings PRESENTS!"  
All this came out without pausing to take a breath and the last word was shouted out with a special amount of excitement . Not being able to sit still anymore she jumped up and down in her fathers lap, almost landing a blow to his jaw with her head. Before Will could ask where and when exactly all that would take place he heard a slight cough and turned to the door, where Mac and Sarah stood, shaking their heads and trying to hide their smiles.

„Sorry, guys! Sweetheart, what did I tell you? First you knock and when someone invites you in you can open the door, okay?"

Charlie's chin sank to her chest, but then she looked up again, her little bottom lip quivering. „Sorry, Mommy." she whispered. „I seen Daddy and wanted to tell him. Can we still get ice cream?"

Mac laughed. „Of course, Sweetie. Just try to remember that we're not at home the next time." Immediately Charlie's grin was back and she snuggled into her father's chest, who looked at his wife.

„So what's all that about elfs and singing and Santa Clause in midsummer?"

„They are going to do a christmas play in kindergarten at the beginning of December and our little gremlin here will play an elf, as you all have heard. She was so excited that Sarah promised they would stop by on their way home so she could tell us."

Seeing that Will wanted to say something Mac raised her hands. „Don't ask me why they have to begin their planning in July already. I really hope they are not starting to practice right away, or it's going to be a looong christmas season..."  
She winked at her husband, who just wanted to open with his well-tried but good-natured rant about the holiday hoo-ha coming earlier each and every year, when he remembered his daughter who was looking up at him expectantly.  
„That's wonderful, Pumpkin, that's going to be fun, I can't wait to see you in your costume. Can Uncle Jim-Bob come, too?"

Shooting a dark glare at Will Jim leaned forward. „I'd love to come and see you as an elf, Charlie. And I'm sure Aunt Maggie will join me if she's in town then. Would that be okay?"

The little girl nodded fiercely. „You all come!"

Again Mac laughed. „We will see about that, I don't think there will be enough chairs for everybody to sit on during the play if the whole newsroom shows up. Now let's go before the ice-cream melts, okay?" While Charlie quickly climbed off Will's lap she looked at him. „I have twenty minutes; we'll be upstairs in the executive dining room, in case you finish up in time."

„Thanks, but I think we'll be busy a little while longer. Bye, Charlie, love you!"

„Bye, Daddy." Turning around she waved her hand before raising her arms to Mac to be lifted up into her arms. Settling her daughter on her hip Mac turned to the team. „I've heard you're doing great work, keep it up. I'm really looking forward to the special."

With a nod she left the room and the three of them walked towards the elevators, leaving the whole room smiling, Will naturally because of his family's unexpected visit, but he also couldn't help but marvel at how Mac could still motivate their staff with just a few simple words.  
„Okay, sorry about that, guys. Where were we?"

„Why don't you ask _Jim Bob_...?" Neal grinned.

„Shut up, Sampat..." Jim growled, while the rest of the table snickered. „Tess, you wanted to give us something on Clinton's plan for immigration."

„Right." The young girl turned off her grin and looked at the papers in front of her. „Like her opponent Clinton says she wants to secure the US borders, but otherwise she has taken a completely different stand than him. She wants protection from deportation, especially to avoid tearing families apart and where no felony convictions exist. She also wants to improve support for better immigrant integration, for example through better access to language programs and education, and new legislation creating a pathway to citizenship. Other plans include allowing undocumented immigrants to buy marketplace health coverage and the closure of private immigration detention centers." She looked at Raheem. „What does Trump have to say about his plans?"

„Well, as you said, Trump also wants to secure the borders, just like Clinton, and Jim already mentioned his plan to deport all illegal immigrants. His other big trump – pun actually intended - with his supporters is the proposed wall at the Mexican border and have them pay for it; he is talking about a one-time payment of US$ 5 – 10 billion. When the Mexican President Peña Nieto refused Trump, he said they _will_ pay or the US will begin to only allow people with a legal status to transfer money into a foreign country. Given that Mexian immigrants send an estimated US$ 24 billion a year to their families and friends at home that is a real threat, though this isn't an official number but an estimate made by Trump. Other sources of income for building the wall would be trade tariffs and increased visa and border crossing card fees."

Checking his notes Raheem went on, not listening to some mumbling from the others discussing the numbers he had just given them. „Another point of his immigration plan is the elimination of federal grants to so-called sanctuary cities, which give only limited assistence to federal immigration officials, by law or by practice. And, especially controversal because it would transgress the 14th amendment, he wants to abolish birthright citzienship, calling it a huge incentive for illegal immigration."

Will clapped his hands. „Great, you all did a wonderful job since last time. Please put everything in a memo together with the details you might have left out, sources and possible interview guests for the segments. For now there's only one part left: What do we have that doesn't fit in any other column? Just make it quick, we really need to get started on tonight's show. Let's try one-liners, categorize it like 'interesting' or 'lie' or whatever fits and then give me one sentence. Leo?"

„Um... Lie: Clinton said she never received nor sent any material that was marked classified, which was debunked by the FBI, though they stated the number of critical e-mails was minimal."

„Good. Jim?"

„False: Trump accused Clinton of laundering money to her husband through Laureate Education while he was honorary chairman of the group."

By now the others had picked up on the desired format and pitched in by themselves with Kendra in the lead.

„Interesting and concerning: If Trump becomes president there is no mechanism that can make him withdraw as chairman of his company, and he could even promote policies that would benefit his business interests; so far he has only said that he _'might'_ hand control over to family members when pressed on the issue."

„Interesting indeed, but technically that was two sentences..." Will winked at her, which earned him an unimpressed glare.  
„Okay, so here's _one_ sentence: Trump has said in 2015 that the US$ 5 billion website for Obamacare has never worked and is still not working, which is wrong on both cost as well as effectiveness."

Now Tamara spoke up. „True: Secretary Clinton asserted that Trump is being used as a recruiting tool by ISIS which has been confirmed through videos that have been released, urging muslims to join the terror organization because they are not welcome in countries like the US and actually showing excerpts of Trumps speeches."

„Alarming: Trump has repeatedly said he does not want to take the option to use nuclear weapons off the table, be it against terrorist groups or even in Europe, emphasizing the need to be unpredictable and asking why we have the weapons in the first place if we are not prepared to use them."  
Tamara couldn't hide her feelings about this subject and Raheem added „Don't forget that he likes their 'destructive powers', andwhen asked he didn't seem to have a problem with other countries like South Korea and Japan and even Saudi Arabia to have nuclear capability themselves."

Will nodded and then looked at Leo.

„Er... Mostly true: Clinton said she won health care for 8 million children, which happened in 1997. She didn't do it alone but all sides agree that she played a key role in creating the Children's Health Insurance Program."

„Wrong: Trump said that only 168 of more then 3 million conceal carry permits issued in the past 30 years in Florida have been revoked; in reality it were nearly 11.000."

Now Jim took over again. „Delusional? Trump suggested that Clinton doesn't do very well with women and also that his own numbers among all voters were better then Reagan's against Jimmy Carter – Both claims are definitely wrong, especially with Clinton leading trump among women by a historic margin."

„Untrue: As Leo had already hinted at last time, Clinton lied about having been under sniper fire on arrival in Bosnia."

„Delicate: In 1997 a federal lawsuit was filed against Trump, accusing him of having sexually assaulted and trying to rape the girlfriend of a business partner in the early 90s ,but was later dropped when he settled a separate dispute with her boyfriend." Tess looked like she wanted to say more, but refrained from it.

„Outright lie: Trump claimed that he 'never once asked' for Megyn Kelly to be removed as moderator from the GOP primary debate on Fox, for which proof to the contrary can be found on his own twitter account."

„Sketchy: Donald Trump boasts that he is self-funding his campaign, and while a large part of his campaign funds does come from him, a significant portion of his money comes from individual contributions and most of the money he gave himself are loans he can expect to get back."

„Okay, that's quite impressive already." Will looked around the table. „Give me one more on each and then we are done for today. Sandra?"

„Um, surprising: The Clintons attended Trump's wedding with Melania and supposedly had a very good time?"

„Okay, then here another surprise, sorry, a little more then one sentence." Kendra said with an apologetic grin directed at Will. „In an interview in 2008 Trump said about Clinton, I quote: _'I think she is going to go down at a minimum as a great senator. I think she is a great wife to a president. And I think Bill Clinton was a great president. You know you look at the country then, the economy was doing great. Look at what happened during the Clinton years. I mean, we had no war, the economy was doing great, everybody was happy... Bill Clinton was a great president. Hillary Clinton is a great woman and a good woman.'_ And in 2007 he said on CNN: _'_ _I think she's a very, very brilliant person, and as a senator in New York, she has done a great job. Everybody loves her. She just won an election with a tremendous majority and she really — she's become very, very popular in New York. And it wasn't easy.'_ "

These quotes earned her some impressed glances from the other teams which Will formed into words. „Great job that you guys found this, you should try to get a statement from his campaign on that. But that's it for today, thanks. Work on finalizing what we have so far and we meet again in a week for any updates."

With a relieved sigh his staffers got up and left the room, while Jim and Will gathered their last papers. „Did you have a good weekend? Is Maggie still in New York?"

Jim smiled. „She has another couple of days off before she has to go back to D.C. It's good to have a more days together for a change than just a weekend."

„I can imagine. Mac was asking for her, why don't you come over for dinner tomorrow night after the show?"

„Sounds good to me. I'll ask her and let you know."  
Picking up the bundle of files he left the conference room to finally get started on the work for the upcoming show.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

 **Thursday, July 28, 2016**

During the following weeks they had finalized the rundown for the special and started on the segments that could be prepared beforehand.

The convention coverage had been another busy period for the team and today they met for last minute changes and additions to the format they had agreed upon, with Jim summing them up for the whole team.

We have a few more points whe should think about adding. First of all Jenna, you and your team should do short segments on the running mates Mike Pence and Tim Kaine; what do they stand for, political history etc., okay?" When Jenna nodded he went on.

„Pence has already started his job and accused Clinton of taking 13 hours before sending help to the Americans in Benghazi which would make her unfit to be the Commander in Chief. We have talked about these allegations being wrong before.  
Without giving any solid sources other then 'people' and 'newspapers' Trump claims that there are 30 – 34 million illegal immigrants in the US. Official figures from Homeland Security set this number at about one third of that, which has been confirmed by several independent organizations like the Pew Research Center and the Center for Migration Studies.  
Martin has pointed out that Trump has criticized John McCain for not doing anything for the vets, which is not true. In addition to several legislative projects like the _'Clay Hunt Suicide Prevention for American Veterans Act'_ or _'The Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability and Transparency Act'_ McCain has helped to turn into law, his office employs 5 caseworkers solely dedicated to help veterans who have problems with the Department of Veteran affairs, having dealt with more than 2.000 cases last year alone. Veteran groups say he could do even more, but defend him at the same time. I believe we can rate Trumps allegations as false.  
And last but not least we almost come back full circle to our first meeting, Trump insulting people and not being able to apologize... His insensitive, insulting and demeaning treatment of Mr. And Mrs. Khan whose son has died in the service of this country... Well, we have just covered that on the show."

„Great, thanks Jim. One last thing we should cover is that Sanders has endorsed Clinton in an effort to unite the party, while Ted Cruz refused to do so at the Republican Convention during prime time. And maybe a couple sentences about Melania's speech?" Will looked around and hummed his agreement when he saw the confirming nods his team gave him.

„Okay then. Thanks for all the hard work you've put into this over the last weeks. Put together the last segments today and tomorrow and Jim, you also need to finalize with graphics. On Saturday we'll meet to go through the rundown one last time. Jim, Kendra and Gary, you will be on standby on Sunday for last minute changes. Agreed?"

When everybody nodded Will smiled. „Let's make it a great show!"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

 **Sunday, July 31, 2016**

„You did? That sounds fun, Sweetie! Will you leave some for Daddy and me?"

Will came out of his office bathroom and found Mac still on the phone with Charlie. Their daughter was at home with Leona, who had wholeheartedly embraced the role as ersatz-grandma as the real one lived in England and had offered to watch her this evening while the election special was being broadcast. Mac and Will had promised their daughter to call to wish her a good night before she had to turn in for the night, and Mac had taken the opportunity while he had changed into his suit.

„Daddy is here now. Be a good girl and go to bed real soon, okay? Sleep tight, Honey, I love you."

With a smile she handed the phone to her husband. „Hello Princess, how come you aren't in bed yet...? Oh, you baked cookies with Nona? Were they yummy...? Mmmh., I'll try them when we get home, okay? But now you have to go to bed and I need to work, okay...? Yes, we'll kiss you goodnight when we get home, promise... I love you, too, my little elf."

Will hung up and turned to his wife. „They baked cookies."

„I know, she told me." Mac smiled and started to arrange his tie and adjust his collar. „Ten minutes, how are you feeling?"

„Fine." He moved the tie's knot to a more comfortable position and then let his arms sneak around Mac's waist. „Are you gonna watch from the control room?"

Her smile had a slightly nostalgic touch when she answered with a sigh. „Yeah, and I'll sit quietly in the back as always..."

„You still miss it, eh?"

„Sometimes..."

Will didn't answer but looked at her sceptically.

„Okay, often. But it's okay, you and Jim are doing a great job."

„You taught him well, but you know what? I still miss you in my ear..." He pulled her a little firmer against him and gave her a light kiss.

Smiling against his lips Mac whispered seductively „Give me a great show and I'll be in your ear for as long as you want later..."

Chuckling at the low growl he let out she straightened his tie for the last time and then looked up at him. „Just please don't go off script and call Trump the American Bin Laden or whatever, okay? As much as I like Lonny, I really don't need him shadowing you again. And don't forget that Charlotte could be a target now, too..."

„Of course..." Will leaned in for another soft kiss. „Don't worry, Trump supporters might not be happy in the end but I won't say anything that isn't true or try to get in a big punch. Just facts."

„Okay... Have a good show." With a last peck she turned around and left his office to let him go through his notes one more time.

Jim and his crew had gotten used to her sometimes watching the show from the control room and welcomed her, one of the reason surely being that she didn't butt in while they were on the air, so when she entered the room and sat down in the back, wishing them a good show as well, her presence was merely acknowledged by a few smiles and nods.

Jim and Joey were doing some last graphic checks and then Will was already sitting down behind his desk.

„Okay Will, you know the drill. Start with your intro and then follow with the portraits of Stein, Castle and Johnson. Herb's starting the countdown now, have a good show."

:::::::::::::::::::::::::

The broadcast had gone very well, and Will had even managed to draw a couple unexpected revelations from the studio guests, but now it was nearing its end.

„Okay Will, you've got one minute to wrap it up."

Will tapped the tip of his pen to let Jim know that he had understood.

„That was very interesting analysis of the acceptance speeches of Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump, thank you, Mr. Richards." He turned back to the camera that was now focused solely on him again.

„We have heard a lot tonight about all the candidates for the office of the President, but admittedly most about Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Party and Donald Trump for the Republican Party, one of whom is most likely to hold the highest office of our land for at least the next four years. We have tried to give you an objective overview about what each candidate stands for, so that you will be able to make an informed decision on election day.  
Of course we will keep you updated on further news and developments regarding the candidates and their policies during our regular Newsnight broadcasts until the election is over and the results are in."

Will paused for a moment to put emphasize his next words.

„It is _you_ , who will decide which path this country will be following during the next four years. Remember: _Decisions are made by those who show up."_

Again he remained quiet to let his words sink in before he continued.

„I would like to end with a quote from former President Josiah Bartlett:

 _'We spend so much time demonizing the other side, treating our opponents as if they were threatening strangers with whom we share nothing in common, that we have lost sight perhaps of the greater truth:_

 _There's a lot more that unites Americans than divides them.'_

We all should think about this before we make our choice on November 8.

Thank you for watching this special edition of Newsnight.  
This is Will McAvoy, good night."

::::::::::::::::::::::::

 _As in the first chapter I only used checked facts with politifact DOT com being the most important source, a site i can only recommend._

 _Credit goes also to Aaron Sorkin for some West Wing quotes I used - And I hope bringing in 'President Bartlett' at the end wasn't too weird, but I definitely like his words, written by 'Sam Seaborn', by the way!_

 _I hope this story wasn't too dry and I thank you for reading it til the end!_

 _Comments would be, as always, very much appreciated!_


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